Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal will continue to strengthen their squad in the coming weeks, insisting the Premier League champions will not "sit still" as they prepare to defend their first top-flight title in 22 years.
Speaking after Saturday's 4-1 friendly win over Girona, Arteta said: "We expect there to be movement in the next few weeks. We want to improve like any other team. You only have to look at the transfer market and our rivals, what they are doing, to understand that we will not be sitting still. We are very ambitious with what we are doing."
"The gap between teams is very small, so we need to upgrade the squad. We have to increase internal competition and identify the areas where we are missing something in the squad."
Compared to big-spending rivals such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal have been relatively quiet in the transfer market. However, the Emirates side have signed goalkeeper Illan Meslier, striker Christos Tzolis, and made defender Piero Hincapie's loan move permanent after his stint last season.
In the friendly against Girona, Tzolis scored on his debut. Kai Havertz, Max Dowman and Gabriel Jesus also found the net as Arsenal secured a convincing victory on Spanish soil.
Arsenal are reportedly targeting Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes and Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr, but Arteta refused to comment on those rumors.
